Is there a sound receiver for my deaf ear that can send sound to my hearing ear?

7 Answers

When there is single sided deafness, there are several options available, including a CROS (contralateral routing of signal) hearing devices/BI-CROS, or bone anchored hearing aids (BAHA). A BAHA picks up the sound on the deaf side, and sends the signals to the good ear through bone conduction. It is a great option, which can also link via bluetooth to a cell phone. BAHAs are also used for people with conductive hearing losses, but single sided deafness is also treatable with the BAHA.

Yes there is. It is called a CROS or a BiCROS system. A CROS system is used if the hearing in your non-deaf ear has hearing within normal limits. A BiCROS system is used if there is diagnosed hearing loss in the non-deaf ear so you better ear is also being treated. A variety of manufacturers now offer these technologies at different levels and with additional features like streaming, rechargeability, etc. It would be best to schedule an appointment with an audiologist so they can provide you with all of you options.

Actually there is a microphone that goes on your deaf ear and a receiver on your hearing ear. Microphones pick up sounds and the receiver delivers them to the hearing ear. This treatment of single sided deafness is called a CROS or BiCROS system however other treatment options exist as well such as bone anchored hearing aids (BAHA) or cochlear implants. Visit your audiologist to have a single sided deafness evaluation to determine which treatment would provide you the most benefit.

Yes there is a device called a Cros aid that can work with a regular aid to transmit the sound to the better hearing ear. These devices have really improved over the years & Phonak's latest which I received to evaluate yesterday offers full day rechargability.

Out imminently where cosmetics are an issue is an instant fit completely in the canal device from Signia. I will update this response with more information about it once I get more acquainted with it but certainly an industry first.

As stated by these professional, there are more than one solution for your problem. However, be certain that you really have no residual hearing at all in your "deaf" ear. With the CROSS, you will loose your sense of direction even though you can hear more sound around you. I would rather fit my patients with 2 aids (providing that they can still hear out of their worse ear) so that they can somewhat maintain their sense of direction. Just something to think about.

There is some truth and wisdom in this answer, as well as a bit of misinformation. The original question asked about utilizing a microphone with a deaf side by transmitting to the better ear, which is what a CROS system is all about. And your recommendation about verifying true deafness in the worse ear is correct. How to verify is for your hearing healthcare professional to test both sides utilizing puretone testing first. If there is any residual hearing in the worse ear, further verification should be conducted by obtain "Word Recognition Scores" (WRS), both separately for each ear and then together at the same time. As an example, you may get only 12% correct for the worse each and 84% correct for the better ear. What really matters from there is how well you do with the signal sent to both ears at the same time.

*If your WRS gets better (i.e. goes above 84% to 96%, just as an example, then Keith's recommendation for getting two traditional hearing aids makes sense. Likewise, auditory deprivation (i.e. not stimulating the auditory nerve) could make things worse on the bad side.

*If your WRS gets worse (i.e. goes from 84% down to 48%), then amplification on the bad side us just distorting the signal and making things worse for the good side. In this case, a CROS system is the better choice.

*Where it really gets confusing, however, is if there is no change. It could be a toss up then, so what to do? One solution would be a trial both ways, starting with binaural (two aids). Wear them for two weeks, then stop using the aid on the worse side. If, however, you feel you hear worse with only one aid, then you'll have your answer. If you don't notice any difference, binaural might not be best for you. Then try BiCROS. Repeat the same process and you'll likely notice benefit.

*A third option if WRS doesn't change would be to try a new innovation called "AmpCROS", which involves taking a pair of regular hearing aids and utilizing a special feature known generically as "binaural acoustic telephone" to create the semblance of a CROS setting for one of the programs (I'd use program #2!). This way the user can switch between the two in case one provides better results in one situation versus another--the best of both worlds. The other benefit of an AmpCROS fitting is that it allows some sound to still be sent to the bad ear, stimulating it which helps to preserve the nerve. This would be important in case the user would ever consider obtaining a cochlear implant. The sound would not be turned up quite as loud on the setting as we'd normally try to stimulate that ear, only until the perception of sound on that side is recognized by the user. Turning it up louder (making it even more of a binaural fitting, could lead to distortion of the speech signal, as described above.

AmpCROS is not a specific product; it's a concept. It can be done with Unitron, Phonak, Signia, Rexton, Widex, and Starkey hearing aids. If your local provider isn't familiar with the AmpCROS concept, have them contact me. Scot@SalemAudiologyClinic.com

Where there's some misinformation is regarding localization (being able to tell which direction sounds are coming from. While a binaural fitting as Keith suggests is likely better for localization, again, it won't make a difference if there's no residual hearing in the bad side, and can actually serve to distort speech if the damage on the worse side is truly bad. In my opinion, speech clarity is more important under most circumstances than localization, and providing the user with (using the above example) 84% for both sides because of the signal all being routed to the better ear accomplishes that goal.

Likewise, today's CROS technology has significantly improved regarding the ability to provide localization since there is a defined time lag for the transfer of sound from the bad side to the good side. While not as good as truly normal hearing, it does it's best to simulate it and provide better localization than a monaural fitting and without the possible distortion of speech that may result from a binaural fitting.

Yes there is! What you are referring to is a CROS system. How it works is you wear a hearing device in your deaf ear and it wirelessly sends the information to a device in your better hearing ear. This is a great solution to always turning your better ear toward the person you are trying to listen to.

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